MP CM To Sit On Indefinite Hunger Strike To Restore Peace

New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that he will go on a indefinite hunger strike at Dussehra Maidan from 11am on Saturday in capital Bhopal, till peace is restored.

Chouhan also accused unlawful elements of unleashing violence in Mandsaur and says that his fast will bring peace. He also said that people can to me and discuss issues.

“I have decided to sit on an indefinite fast from tomorrow. It will continue till the time peace is restored in MP,” Chouhan told a press conference here. He will be holding an open ‘durbar’ for farmers to meet him.

“I request people to come up to me with their problems.We have always been open to discussion. So, I have decided from tomorrow I will be listening to grievances in-person,” the chief minister said.

The farmers’ agitation in Madhya Pradesh reached the doorsteps of the state capital Bhopal on Friday, with incidents of arson and stone-pelting in Fanda area.

Police baton-charged the protesters and arrested at least 27 of them in the area, some 20km outside Bhopal.

“Some unidentified persons set a truck on fire near a spot where Congress workers were protesting. Then some men hurled stones at the policemen present there,” deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Raman Singh Sikarwar told PTI.

The arrested include 19 Congress workers. Police also arrested eight others who were allegedly pelting stones. “We also resorted to lathi-charge to disperse stone-pelters,” the DIG said.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since 1 June, seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things. On 6 June, five protesters were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district, the epicentre of agitation. A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of Mandsaur, with locals today alleging that he was beaten up by policemen.